Tony Pike doesn't wake up every morning and pinch himself to see if this is all a dream. The junior who will start at quarterback for Cincinnati in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Thursday against Virginia Tech is well beyond that.

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly has a reputation for taking programs to places they've never been before. Now he's done it again. In his second season, Kelly has led the Bearcats (11-2) to their first Bowl Championship Series game, against Virginia Tech (9-4) in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.

The quarterback with the broken arm led No. 20 Cincinnati to the threshold of its first Big East championship. Tony Pike threw three touchdown passes, each to a different receiver, and the Bearcats took control of the conference by beating 19th-ranked Pittsburgh 28-21 on Saturday night, their first win in eight games against the Panthers.

Two of the three leaders in the race for the league's Bowl Championship Series berth square off as No. 19 Pittsburgh steams down the Ohio River to take on No. 20 Cincinnati. With only Syracuse remaining on their Big East dance card and having beaten West Virginia, the Bearcats can all but lock up the big-money bid.

Seconds after the gun sounded to end No. 22 Cincinnati's soggy 28-20 win over Louisville on Friday, several Bearcats sprinted to the end zone and grabbed the Keg of Nails, the trophy that had tormented them for years.